Adolphine Fletcher Terry

Adolphine Fletcher Terry (1882–1976) was an American political and social activist in the state of Arkansas. Terry used her position within the Little Rock community to affect change in causes related to social justice, housing, and education. Fletcher is most remembered for her role on the Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools (WEC) that was primarily responsible for reopening the Little Rock, Arkansas public school system and bringing to a close the school district closing in 1958, following the Little Rock Crisis.

Early Life and Education

Terry was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on November 3, 1882 to a socially prominent family. She was the daughter of Confederate officer John Gould Fletcher who served as Mayor of Little Rock from 1875 to 1881.[1] Terry's mother was Adolphine Krause Fletcher, a daughter of German immigrants. She had one brother, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet John Gould Fletcher,[1] and a sister. The Fletcher family was active in local politics and her father was active in the cotton business and banking.[2]

Like many privileged women of her time, Terry entered college at the early age of 15 after graduating Peabody High School in 1898. Following the wishes of her mother, Terry attended Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Vassar's curriculum provided coursework that engaged Terry with community issues of her time, which planted a seed for social activism in her life.[3] Terry graduated in 1902 and returned to Arkansas.

Public Life and Social Activism

Shortly after returning from college, Terry involved herself in many local clubs and activities like many other women of her time. Terry wasn't satisfied with just attending parties and appearing as a debutante. As a southern new woman, Terry felt the desire to join clubs and involve herself in the needs of her community. Throughout her life that need permeated her everyday and Terry became a champion for causes both small and large, and she used her position to help others less fortunate than herself.

Education

In 1905 Terry was responsible for co-founding the Souther Association for College Women which provided a forum for college educated women to discuss issues that were important to them. This organization would later become the Arkansas Association for University Women a division of the American Association of University Women. She also helped with education reform, pushing for school consolidation throughout the state of Arkansas. She was an advocate of hiring professional school administrators and formed the first school improvement association in the state.[4] Terry maintained an interest in education throughout her life and led efforts to consolidate school districts and provide transportation for rural students.

Juveniles in Arkansas

In 1911 Terry was appointed by the local Women's Christian Temperance Union to investigate juvenile courts that had been established by legislation the group had championed. She was soon appointed the chairman of the juvenile court board for Pulaski County. She and other members of the board even took delinquent children into their own homes to keep them out of the state reform school that had been largely deemed a "place of punishment for bad children."[5] Terry and other members of the board fought for the creation of the Boys Industrial School and the Girls Industrial School in 1917.

Terry also helped to form the African-American branch of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in Little Rock. Her assistance in this feat led to the YWCA opening in 1921.[6]

Women's Suffrage Movement

The Political Equality League was created by Terry's sister Mary Fletcher in 1911. The league sponsored programming and met twice a month to push for legislative changes pertaining to women's suffrage. Terry also participated in the Political Equality League that approached the legislature in Arkansas four separate times before they were able to persuade them to allow women to vote in the state's primary elections.[7]

Libraries and Literacy

Terry is very well known for her advocacy for libraries. As a part of the Americanism committee for the state of Arkansas, she made it her mission to improve the libraries in the state. When she began her work, in 1934, there were only three reported libraries in the entire state of Arkansas due to poor state planning and lack of funding. Under her direction, legislation was passed to appropriate local funding statewide for the creation of public libraries. Terry was praised for her work on this project throughout her life. She remained a trustee of the Little Rock Public Library until her retirement in 1966.[8]

Women's Emergency Committee

In 1958 Terry founded the Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools as a critical response to the Little Rock Crisis over school integration.[9] Her leadership of the white women of Little Rock was a major obstacle to the efforts of Governor Orval Faubus to keep the schools from integrating.[10] "In 1959, the WEC, black voters, and a group called Stop This Outrageous Purge campaigned successfully to recall three school board members who were segregationists...The WEC efforts, including a study documenting the negative effect the school crisis was having on Little Rock’s economy, altered the course of public action and helped reopen the schools in 1959."[3]

Personal life

Adolphine Fletcher Terry and David D. Terry (1881-1963) were married in the Fletcher home on July 7, 1910. The Terry's had three children, David D. Terry, Jr. (1911-1962), Mary Terry (1914-1974) born with a rare defect called osteogenesis imperfecta, Sally Terry (1916-1986), and William (Bill) Terry born in 1922.[8] The Terry's also cared for David, Sr.'s sister after the death of his parents, as well as adopted Joseph, an orphan that their daughter Mary became friends with while receiving treatment for her illness.[3] Terry took care of her large family throughout World War I and during David, Sr.'s career while still maintaining her role as an important Little Rock community member.

David, Sr. was involved in politics. From 1929-1933 he served on the Little Rock School Board. After completing his tenure on the school board he was elected to the state legislature in 1933. Eventually David would go on to have two successful terms in the United States House of Representatives, but would lose races for both United States Senate and the Arkansas governorship.[1] He died of Parkinson's Disease on October 6, 1963.

"Terry's son William and his wife Betty continue to be active in Little Rock. Their daughters and their families also carry on Adolphine Fletcher Terry’s commitment to making Little Rock better."[11]

Later Life and Legacy

Adolphine Fletcher Terry died after having suffered a debilitating stroke on July 25, 1976 at 93. Terry is buried at historic Mount Holly Cemetery in downtown Little Rock. She and her sister willed the family mansion to the city of Little Rock for use by the Arkansas Arts Center. The Adolphine Fletcher Terry library of the Central Arkansas Library System was named in Terry's honor.

Works

Terry was an avid writer and published many works throughout her lifetime.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Murphy, Sara Alderman (1997-01-01). "Adolphine Fletcher Terry". Breaking the Silence. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 1–26. ISBN 9781557285157.
  2. ↑ Bayless, Stephanie (2011). Obliged to Help: Adolphine Fletcher Terry and the Progressive South. Little Rock: Butler Center Books. p. 18. ISBN 9781935106326.
  3. 1 2 3 "Adolphine Fletcher Terry (1882–1976) - Encyclopedia of Arkansas". www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  4. ↑ Bayless, Stephanie (2011). Obliged to Help: Adolphine Fletcher Terry and the Progressive South. Little Rock: Butler Center Books. p. 36. ISBN 1935106325.
  5. ↑ Bayless, Stephanie (2011). Obliged to Help: Adolphine Fletcher Terry and the Progressive South. Little Rock: Butler Center Books. p. 55. ISBN 1935106325.
  6. ↑ Bayless, Stephanie (2011). Obliged to Help: Adolphine Fletcher Terry and the Progressive South. Little Rock: Butler Center Books. pp. 84–86. ISBN 1935106325.
  7. ↑ Cahill, Bernadette (Winter 2012). "Stepping outside the bounds of convention: Adolphine Fletcher Terry and radical suffragism in Little Rock, 1911-1920". Pulaski County Historical Review (60(4)): 122–129.
  8. 1 2 Bayless, Stephanie (2011). Obliged to Help: Adolphine Fletcher Terry and the Progressive South. Little Rock: Butler Center Books. ISBN 1935106325.
  9. ↑ Jacoway, Elizabeth (1997-01-01). "Down from the Pedestal: Gender and Regional Culture in a Ladylike Assault on the Southern Way of Life". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly 56 (3): 345–352. doi:10.2307/40023180.
  10. ↑ Freyer, Tony A. (1997-01-01). "The Little Rock Crisis Reconsidered". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly 56 (3): 367–368. doi:10.2307/40023182.
  11. ↑ Scott. "Little Rock Look Back: Adolphine Fletcher Terry". Little Rock Culture Vulture. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
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